We think Basulto's most important lesson for politicians in search of a Soundbite 2.0, though, is this: "You don’t create the zeitgeist, the zeitgeist creates you. If you’re a politician, this means you can’t create a viral meme..."

We can imagine the desperately painful world in which meme-hunting politicians start peppering their language with "ROFLs" and "LOLs" hoping the internet-at-large will take their bait. Even President Obama, whose staff often tries to promote viral hashtags to get folks advocating his policies, tends to lose control, as political opponents re-appropriate them to make snide jokes. As our personal favorite recent trendlet, Ridiculously Photogenic Running Guy, proves, the best memes are serendipitous, and totally, utterly unplanned.

Everyone has someone on their holiday shopping list who’s impossible to buy for. For the second year in a row, we asked Atlantic readers to describe their someone, and brainstormed a few perfect gift ideas for them.